NASA has released the first images captured by the Compact Coronagraph (CCOR-1), a state-of-the-art solar telescope aboard the GOES-19 satellite, which became operational on September 19, 2024.
This marks the world's first operational space coronagraph, which aims to enhance space weather forecasting.
The CCOR-1 continuously monitors the solar corona, the Sun's outer atmosphere, with the primary goal of detecting coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—massive expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields that can trigger geomagnetic storms upon reaching Earth.
Such storms can disrupt navigation systems like GPS/GNSS, satellites, power grids, and aviation communications, while also being responsible for auroras in polar regions.
Every 15 minutes, the CCOR-1 captures new images of the corona, utilizing an occulting disk to block the Sun's brightness and highlight the faint light of the corona.
In its inaugural video, a CME was observed emerging from the eastern side of the Sun, accompanied by bright streamers illustrating the solar plasma's journey into space.
According to NOAA, the CCOR-1 is the first in a series of instruments planned for deployment along the Sun-Earth line and around the Sun. These instruments are part of NOAA's Space Weather Follow-On and Space Weather Next programs, which aim to provide continuous and accurate monitoring of space weather.